Government opposition to a third runway at Heathrow is beginning to weaken,
observers claimed, after the Chancellor pledged to tackle a shortage of
airport capacity in the south-east.

Despite public denials from the Department for Transport that the Government could sanction expansion at Britain’ premier airport, George Osborne’s commitment in the Budget to “confront” the capacity issue was hailed as the latest sign of a change of ministerial thinking.

Echoing recent remarks from Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways-owner International Airlines Group, Mr Osborne stressed: “We cannot cut ourselves off from the fastest growing cities in the world.”

The Government said in January that it was prepared to consider an ambitious £50bn project to build a new four-runway airport in the Thames Estuary. But supporters of Heathrow expansion maintain that a third runway would be a much quicker and cheaper option, costing £8bn-£12bn.

Ashley Steel, KPMG’s global chair for transport, said: “At long last pressure from business and lobby groups appears to be weakening the government’s previous resolve to oppose airport capacity in the south-east. Finally there is hope for a third runway at Heathrow.” He added that extra runway capacity was “essential for the continuing economic recovery”.

Mr Osborne’s admission that a consultation paper on options for a UK hub airport had now been pushed back from next week to “later this summer” was also widely interpreted as signalling a potential change of stance over Heathrow.

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Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic said: “We look forward to an urgent and open debate with Government on all options, which must include Heathrow.”

Jonathan Riley, planning partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, said: “Taken with the Prime Minister’s speech on Monday, it seems the Government are taxiing for a u-turn on south east airport capacity. The language of confrontation suggests one or more new runways will be supported.”

A DfT spokesman insisted there had been “no change” in the Coalition’s stance on a third runway – though he admitted no government made any commitments beyond one parliament.

He said the delay over the consultation was due to ministers wanting to combine the issue of an airport hub with a separate document on the UK’s “overarching aviation framework”, including such things as aircraft emissions policies. He said the aim was to have “a final policy in place by next spring at the latest”.

An IAG spokesman said: “We need to see actions rather than words from the government’s airport capacity review. The UK is lagging behind global powers that have understood that effective aviation links are key to unleashing economic growth.”